My Top 5 Summer Reads

It’s summer: a time of relaxation, beaches, and ultimately boredom. For me, summer is the time I get to catch up on all those books I bought all year long. Thanks to the never-ending textbook assignments, I don’t actually get a chance to read them. If you're looking for something new to read, here are five suggestions.

If you’re looking for a short YA novel to read this summer, this book definitely needs to be on your list. We Were Liars tells the story of the seemingly perfect Sinclair family and their summers spent on a private island near Massachusetts. E. Lockhart crafts the story of the main character, Cadence, with such careful words and sentence structure; some parts of the novel read more like poetry than prose. This suspense novel comes with an incredible plot twist that will leave you absolutely in love with the book.

How to Ruin Everything is the debut essay collection from rapper George Watsky, which was just released in June 2016. This non-fiction collection offers insight into some of his experiences, ranging from smuggling an ivory tusk into the U.S. to his love for the San Francisco Giants to his personal struggle with epilepsy. These essays will leave you laughing, crying and with some new things to think about and consider. Some of his stories will leave you cringing from second hand embarrassment, but you’ll probably be able to find relatable points in his book that might get you thinking about your own life. And when you’ve finished the book, do me a favor and look up Watsky’s music on YouTube.

In this year’s spring edition of The Talon, Sam Stilwagon recommended The Future of Us, a book about two kids in the 90s who discover their future Facebook accounts and watch as their futures change based on their decisions. If you enjoyed that, you’ll enjoy Landline. Rainbow Rowell’s adult novel features Georgie McCool, a comedy writer who is dealing with a struggling marriage. She discovers a telephone to the past and uses her connection to sort out her current feelings, almost to the point of obsession. You can’t help but get caught up in Georgie’s life story, as told through Georgie’s flashbacks while she tries to figure out how she ended up in this situation.

Imagine you had a disease where almost anything can cause a deathly illness, to the point where you can never leave your house. Madeline Whittier has exactly that. She was diagnosed with a disease known as SCID or “Bubble Baby disease.” Because of this, she spends all of her time in her white house with her mother and the nurse that spends every day with her. Madeline is surprisingly content with her life of books, movies, and video conference schooling. That changes when a new family moves in next door and she manages to exchange email addresses with the boy next door. Now all Madeline wants is to experience the world around her. Follow her story as she discovers how to be friends — and more than friends — with someone in the real world.

A list of books to read this summer would not be complete with this much anticipated screenplay. Nine years after the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, fans are more than ready to receive more information about the Harry Potter universe. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the play being performed on the West End in London, telling the story of Harry’s second son Albus Severus Potter. Luckily, fans who cannot afford to go to London for a play will be able to enjoy the story via the screenplay being released July 31. Barnes and Noble will be holding midnight release parties to celebrate the release. Tweet SJC’s student newspaper @SJCTalonLI pictures of how you're celebrating Cursed Child.

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